School Days commissioned mandala

Above:  Mandala CCXX.  Custom framed: 27" x 27".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Most of these objects were collected by the client.  Objects include:  A child's device to learn to tell time; round, wooden numbers from 1 to 36; short, colored pencils; cookie cutters; dominoes; toy whistles; letters A to H; miniature pinball toys; rubber stamps; toy car wheels; Mallo Cup tokens; owl-eyed paper clips; game pieces; wheat pennies; 12" rulers; keys; tiny, toy airplanes; assorted buttons and beads. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Several months ago, I was contacted by a nice lady who wanted a mandala created from nostalgic objects that reminded her of elementary school days. She was willing to collect these items herself.  Then, she mailed them to me.  I went through the box, laid out a potential design, and sent a photo for her approval.  Almost immediately, she wrote back and I went to work.

 

(Above:  Laying out the numbers around the lid of a pot!)

In order to form a circle around the "teach time nursery clock", I used a lid from one of our pots.  It was just the right size and provided an edge against which I could line up all the wooden numbers.  Each number was pre-drilled and then held in place by a stitched bead.

 

(Above:  Mandala CCXX in progress.)

The next thing I had to figure out was the size of the button circle.  It needed to create the space for the stubby colored pencils.  Then, I attached the rulers and the elements selected for the corners.

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXX.)

Some of the colored pencils had to be sharpened to shorten them.  Some were a little shorter than the average length, but finally I got them all stitched in place.  The points went between the wooden numbers.  A gold bead went at the end.

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXX.)

The next two concentric circles were stitched according to the original design.  Yet when they were finished, I added several other elements.  This generally happens.  It is a rare time when my initial plan isn't altered.  I start out with a clear idea but end up working intuitively.  Thankfully, my client knew this in advance and loves the results.  It's in a box and whizzing its way to its new home!

Now ... I should have already written a blog post about last weekend.  Steve and I went to The Mansion at Strathmore in North Bethesda for the opening of a juried show called Full Circle.  Three of my Found Object Mandalas were in the show.  One received an honorable mention.  The trip was great and we spent a fabulous day in nearby Washington, DC visiting the Hirschhorn, the Smithsonian Asian Art and African Art museums, and turning in my metro card for a senior pass.  Wow!  Half fares from now on!  We also saw a free concert on the Kennedy Center's Millennial stage and went to Wooley Mammoth Theater for a one-man show called Guac, a presentation by the father of a student murdered during the Parkland school shooting.  Believe it or not, it was billed as a comedy despite the very serious and compelling topic addressing gun violence.  I laughed and I cried.